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No, not the deo, silly. The, erm, energy drink. At least that's what Sunny Leone says.
Over the past few years, the sale of energy drinks has been driven by changes in consumer lifestyles. Increased urbanisation, growing health consciousness, and rising disposable income among the Indian youth has increased the demand for non-carbonated drinks.
At the same time, long and erratic working hours, and the increasing occurrence of social gatherings are driving Indian consumers towards consumption of energy drinks. Such drinks are also widely consumed by adolescents as they claim to improve performance, endurance, and alertness.
With the aim to tap the energy drink market in India, which is currently at a nascent stage, but with a huge potential for growth, R Z International launched 'Gold Fogg', an energy drink, in February 2016. The beverage brand has now come up with its maiden ad campaign featuring brand ambassadors Sunny Leone and Jackky Bhagnani for the product.
Speaking about the campaign, Rahul Vinakiya, managing director, R Z International, says, "We opted for (Sunny) Leone as our brand ambassador as she perfectly suits our brand tagline 'Live Your Way'. She completely believes in living life on her terms. (Jackky) Bhagnani has a cool, youthful, and on-the-go attitude that fits in with the product image. He has been roped in for only one television commercial (TVC)."
The film, conceptualised by Aadheeraj Krishna of Hats On Advertising, the creative agency that has worked on the ad campaign, has been directed by Anand Karir. "The TVC has been released pan-India. For trade partners we're looking at news channels AajTak and Zee news, which have great TRPs, while for the youth, we are targetting music channels such as Channel V and 9XM," informs Vinakiya.
Commenting on the new ad campaign, Prakash Goplani, managing director, Hats On Advertising, says, "We wanted to break the stereotype that the energy drink ads have and realised that the competition was obsessed with unrelated gimmicks. We wanted to establish the positioning of 'Live Your Way' among the TG. Thus, (Sunny) Leone with her 'live your way attitude' and millions of followers, was the ideal choice as ambassador for Gold Fogg. And, since Bhagnani, in Bollywood flicks 'F.A.L.T.U' and 'Youngistan', inspired youngsters to lead their lives their own way, we wanted to play on that."
Available in 250 ml and 300 ml ready-to-serve packs, the energy drink is developed by using innovative scientific technique from Poland with a very India twist. "Gold Fogg appeals to one and all. It is for the young and the young-at-heart, for college goers, sports enthusiasts and champions, office professionals, avid gymmers, and everyone who wishes to lead an on-the-go lifestyle," elaborates Vinakiya.
Agreeing with him, Goplani says, "It was tough to create a position for Gold Fogg in a category which is dominated by a single brand. We positioned the energy drink in such a way that it clearly highlighted the functional benefit and also the philosophy of the brand. The overall budget for the whole campaign is around Rs five crore."
The product portfolio by R Z International also includes fruit beverages such as 'Mish Mash', a fine blend of apple and fizz, making it a bubbly and fruity drink, 'Mint Masty', a refreshing drink with a unique desi touch to it with a perfect blend of kiwi, mint, apple, grapes, and lime, and 'Fruit Kiss', a refreshing squash containing real fruit pulp, made of fruits such as apple, strawberry, mango, peach, guava, grape, and the passion fruit, all packed into one.
Currently available in Western and Southern India, the brand thoroughly studied the market readiness for this kind of product before launching it. According to Vinakiya, the company is based in Bengaluru, and hence, starting off with Karnataka and expanding it over the region made sense. "While in the Western region, Mumbai is the biggest market for functional drinks, it has a lot of influence on neighbouring states like Gujarat," he says.
Will the ad influence youngsters to opt for a new drink?
Gold Fogg and FOGG (the perfume/deodorant brand) are quite similar in name. We asked our expert if it will help influence the youth to go for the drink.
Well-executed?
According to Aasht, the ad film feels amateurish, and low on production values. "I am sure the Gold Fogg team would have done its due diligence before venturing on this path. The Indian market is large and extremely diverse. The psychographic segment that drives imagery for Red Bull is a lot more global, educated, affluent, and high on the cool quotient," he says. But, he feels that India has an equally large psychographic segment that will gravitate towards Gold Fogg, which is likely to be affluent, but may not be sophisticated. "As far as a brand is able to create a customer base and generate business, it will not matter whether it lives up to the holy grail of brand moralists, expecting high production values. But, if its target is to be upmarket, the ad is unlikely to achieve the same," he says.